Melinda i donb`t know who scared you ,,,, i am all for makiing
guaguing samplers but after this , i should advice you to cast on a
BIG project ,,,, FOR YOU ,,,, You can always `rest` between knitting
the sweater hours anf make some squares ,,, but intially that sweater
will be there for you to enjoy ,,, and once you made the BIG sweater ,
you wo`nt hesitate anymore to make all the other things ,,,, if you
put off making the sweater ,, WHO knows when you will make it ??????
It is like years ago when i made my Husband and son a father+ son
vests ,,,,, i foolishly started with the son`s vest ,,, WRONG idea ,,
i should have started with the Bigger item ,,,,,
If the problem is with following instructions MAKE YOUR OWN ,,,
Find a sweater /shirt whose size fits you well ,,,
Measure it and draw it on a paper ,,,, now GUAGUGE 20 stich over 10
rows ,,,, now translate cm or inches to stitch numbers and WORK on it
,,, mirjam

Now that you ladies have totally scared me off making a sweater for fear
that I could spend months on making it and then discover it didn't fit,
I discovered from *somewhere* a mailing list where they have a
knit-along for a knitted dishcloth of a different pattern every month.
It seems to me that perhaps I could build my confidence with those small
projects for a few months before I tackle something huge. (then I could
put them all together for lightweight sofa throws or something if I
didn't want to use them all as dishcloths, right?)

I am sort of totally self-taught and have never read a pattern, knit
ambidextrously, etc., and learning how to knit conventionally and to
follow a pattern is a big hurdle to cross.

So does it sound st*pid to start with small things like that or not? It
seems to me like it might be the knitting equivalent of telling people
who want to learn to sew to start with tote bags, pillows, etc.,
because they are more forgiving.

OTOH, if I want to stay way out on my off-the-beaten-path position, I
also saw knitting pattern software that takes what you can do and gives
you a schematic type of thing to follow in whatever way you are knitting
to do what you want. Seeing as though I have pattern drafting software,
knitting pattern software would only seam a reasonable next step LOL
(and it's cheaper -- I think it was like $50).

Any ideas?